Model–Data Dual-Driven Method for Mode-Switching Radar Target Detection

Maneuvering targets exhibit range migration (RM) and Doppler-frequency migration (DFM) during the coherent integration period. Most existing coherent integration methods model maneuvering target motion with a single motion mode. However, highly maneuvering targets often undergo mode-switching, which degrades the detection performance of conventional algorithms. To address this problem, this paper proposes a model–data dual-driven method for mode-switching radar targets. From the model-driven perspective, the range evolution over time is derived in the Cartesian coordinate system for transitions among constant-velocity (CV), constant-acceleration (CA), and constant-turn (CT) motions, thereby constructing multiple possible mode-switching scenarios. Subsequently, from the data-driven perspective, a hierarchical residual network and keypoint loss functions are designed to learn and capture the uncertainty associated with mode-switching, thereby accurately inferring the initial and switching points of the target. Furthermore, to enhance the interpretability of the network, probability heatmap visualization is employed to intuitively reveal the internal mechanisms of the network. Finally, by partitioning the Coherent Processing Interval (CPI) based on network-detected keypoints, the proposed method performs efficient piecewise coherent integration for different motion models by integrating along the slow-time echo-envelope migration path. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method not only effectively eliminates both RM and DFM but also achieves strong detection performance and favorable computational efficiency.